


Them on the Left Hand

by silveradept



Category: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: Book: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-20
Updated: 2013-01-20
Packaged: 2018-05-15 03:37:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5769784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silveradept/pseuds/silveradept
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aslan gives a dressing-down to Caspian, Edmund, and Eustace about their values and actions compared to his own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Them on the Left Hand

Lucy saw the dragon first as it came up over the ridge, flapping its wings. The warning that came to her lips died as the dragon spat fire at Caspian, and she gasped as the flame split around Caspian and left scorch trails for yards behind him.

"Not yet." From the trees, a familiar voice and form emerged. Lucy almost shouted Aslan's name, but something about the lion's demeanor suggested she should wait and listen. "I still need him alive, regrettably. He's still the only one who can finish my mission. After he's finished, you can skewer him and roast him over an open flame, if you've still got the knack."

"Caspian, Caspian. You should still be on the Lone Islands, making sure that Bern rules justly and that they don't slide back into slavery. That way, in a couple months, when they discover they're sitting on a cache of rare metal, you could keep them from enslaving each other in their greedy rush for money. And you could stop them from exploiting the mountains so much that they anger the goddess of the volcanoes...yes, Caspian, they're volcanoes, not mountains, that make up the Lone Islands, so much that she blows the entire Lone Islands off the map."

Lucy wanted to gasp, cry out, or scream for all the people on the island, but could only shed silent tears as she listened. The coldness in Aslan's voice frightened her - gone was her good friend, and in its place was something strange.

"By the time the news reaches you, of course, the Lone Islands will have long since sunk into the sea. Your concern for your lost tribute will be greater than for the lost lives. Were it in my power, you would still be with your uncle. The Emperor, however, seems to have a plan for you, and so I am forbidden."

The dragon snorted. "Oh, he's not the only one." The lion paced over to Edmund. "You should have made more of an effort to find your cousin. You, too, Lucy, but I can forgive you because everyone here is absurdly certain that you should do nothing but sit in your cabin and play chess." As Aslan padded by, Lucy wanted to throw her arms around him and plead for things to change.

"But while I can't kill anyone here, I can certainly make sure that you all suffer appropriately for your sins." The dragon whuffed and stomped its forelimbs in response. "Come off it, Eustace. I am sorry that you suffered Octesian's curse by accident, but the way you treated your cousins and Reepicheep meant that you were going to have to go through suffering to purify yourself, just as much as everyone else. The Emperor does not forgive without atonement. Such are the rules. You all have to grow up sometime."

The lion turned away, and with a flick of its tail, was gone. Spinning, Lucy looked for the dragon, but he, too, had vanished. Finally free of her paralysis, Lucy threw her arms around Edmund. "Oh, Edmund! Did you see! Aslan was here!"

Edmund turned to Lucy, and a flicker of that same coldness was in his eyes as he replied. "No, Lu. I didn't see anything. Can we stop playing childish games and grow up?"

For a moment, Lucy understood. She saw Susan, grown up, looking among the nylons and the lipsticks, choosing and testing. This time, though, instead of looking at the things, Lucy looked at Susan. She saw the coldness, and the pain, and she saw how much Susan was making herself forget, so that she could be grown up. Lucy saw, and she understood.

For a moment, Queen Lucy, the Valiant, the Faithful, doubted.

From the shadows, the lion sighed. "Even you, Lucy. I had hoped to spare you from the ordeals, but growing mustard seeds in the desert is always rough going."

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted as a comment to Ana Mardoll's deconstruction series.


End file.
